Engine-starting apparatus



' Sept. 3, 1929. w. ELSEY ENGINE STARTING APPARATUS Original Filed Dec. 10, 1926 '4 Sheets-Sheet l P G. w. ELSEYY 1,726,548

ENGINE STARTING APPARATUS,

Original Filed Dec. 10. 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I 26 21 22 a! z? 1 Patented Sept. 3, 1929.

UNITED STATES 1,726,548 PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W. ELSEY, OF DAYTON, O HIO, .ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO DELCO-REMY CORPORATION, OF DAYTON, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

ENGHi'E-STARTING APPARATUS.

Application filed December 10, 1926*,2Seria1 No. 153,975. Renewed January 14, 1929.

This invent-ion relates to apparatus for starting an internal combustion engine, and particularly to the type of engine starting apparatus which includes an electric motor, means for connecting the motor with the engine including a pinion which is manually movable into mesh with a gear of the engine,

and including provisions whereby the pinion will be automatically demeshed from the engine gear when the engine becomes self-operative.

The invention includes among its objects certain improvements in manually operable means for moving the pinion into nearly full mesh with the engine gear before the motor is permitted to operate, so that the liability of damage to the gear teeth will be minimized. In-the present invention this object is accomplished -by providing axially engaging rotatable clutch members, the driven member of which is provided by the pinion, and manually operable means for causing the driving clutch member axially to engage the driven clutch member in order to move the pinioninto engagement with the engine gear,

and the driving clutch member to rotate the driven clutch member in case of gear tooth abutment in order to rotate the pinion into meshing registration with the engine gear. A manually operablemember is arranged to move longitudinally of the motor shaft and is connected with the driving clutch member by means tending to impart'endwise and rotary movements to the drivingvclutch member. In order that substantial rotation of the driving clutch member will not take place before the pinion engages the gear, a weight element is attached to the driving clutch member, said weight having its center of mass eccentric to the axis of the driving clutch member and initially so arranged as to oppose the tendency of the driving clutch member to rotate as the manually movable member begins to move the driving clutch member endwise toward the pinion.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of embodiment of the present invention is clearlyshown.

In the drawings:

Fig.1 is a fragmentary side view partly in section of starting apparatus embodying the present invention.

Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional views on lines 22 and 3-3 respectively of Fig. 1.

Figs. 4: and 5 are views similar to Fig. 1, showing the starting apparatus in other positions of operation.

Referring to the drawings, 20 designates the field frame of an electric motor which is attached to a housing 21 in any suitable man ner. The housing 21 supports a bearing 22 for the armature shaft 23 of the motor, the left end of shaft 23 being supported by a bearing (not shown) supported by the left end of the motor frame 20. The shaft 23 is provided with a helically splined portion 24 ending in a shoulder portion 25 adapted to bear against a thrust washer 26 engaging a finished surface 27, at right angles to the axis of the shaft 23. The shaft 24 is provided with a stop collar 28 which receives the right end of the hubof a pinion 29 which threadedly engages the splines 24. The pinion 29 is adapted to mesh with a gear 30 connected with theengine to be started. The gear 30 may be the engine flywheel gear.

The mechanism for moving the pinion 29 into engagement with the gear 30 and for rotating the pinion29 in case of gear tooth abutment, includes a driven clutch member provided by beveling the left hand end of veach of the gear teeth 29 as indicated by numeral 31. The teeth of the pinion thus provide' a clutch adapted to be engaged by clutch teeth 32 provided by a tubular sleeve 33 which is supported by a hub 34 movable endwise along the shaft 23. The hub 34 is provided with spaced flanges 35 and 36 which engage the interior of the sleeve 33. The flange 35 is provided with a groove 38 into which portions of the sleeve 33 are pressed so that the sleeve is fixed endwise relative to the hub. The driving clutch member 33 is moved endwise and rotated by manually operable means including a lever 40 pivoted upon a stub shaft 41 attached to the housing 21. The lever 10 is attached to a pedal rod 42 passing through a cup-shaped member 43 attached to; the floor board of the automobile which is equipped with the present starter device. A spring 45 which is located between the cup-shaped member 43and a pedal member- 46 tends to maintain the lever 40 in the position shown in Fig. 1. The lever 40 is adapted to engage the plunger 50 or actuating member of a motor switch enclosed within a switch case 51 attached by screws 52 to the motor field frame 20. A spring 53 located betweenthe case 51 and a cap 54:, attached to the plunger 50, tends to move the plunger 50 outwardlyrelative to the switch case 51 and, to maintain the switch open. The lower end of the lever 40 carries a pin or stud 60 which is received by a slot 61 in the groove member 33, the slot 61 being oblique to the axis of the shaft 23.

Adjacent the armature core 70, the. shaft 23 carries a spacing sleeve 71 which is located adjacent a brake disc 72 attached to the shaft 23. A floating brake disc 73 is located between the disc 72 and a brake disc 7 l which is attached to the hub 34 and is fixed in predetermined relation to the sleeve 33 by providing it with a hole 7 for receiving a tang 76 extending from the sleeve '33. By this construction a weight element 77 integral with the disc 7 4: is fixed in predetermined relation to the slot 61 for a purpose to be described.

In using the present invention to start an engine, the operator will press the pedal l6 downwardly thereby causing the driving clutch teeth 32 to be moved toward the right into engagement with the driven clutch teeth provided by the teeth of the pinion 29. Further movement of the pedal downwardly will cause the pinion 29 to engage the gear 3-0. If the teeth of the pinion 29 do not abut the teeth of the gear 30, the pinion 29 will directly mesh with the gear 30, and after these gears are substantially in mesh the motor switch will be closed following the engagement of the lever 40 with the plunger 50 as shown in Fig. 4c- The motor shaft 23 will be turned in the direction of the arrow 80 and will cause the pinion 29 to be moved into engagement with the stop collar 28 as indicated by the dot and dash line position 29 of the pinion shown in Fig. 1. Then the pinion 29 will be driven by the shaft 23 and will turn the gear 30 in order to crank'the engine. Due to friction between the shaft 23'and the hub 34 of the sleeve .33, the sleeve 33 will tend to rotate with the shaft 23 in the direction of the arrow 30. Due to the pin and oblique slot connections between the sleeve 33 and the relatively stationary lever t0, the sleeve 33 will be cammed toward the left and will be returned to normal position as shown in Figs. 1 and 5 before the starting operation has been completed. Thus the driving clutch member provided by the sleeve 33 will be retracted to permit the pinion 29 to be automatically demeshed when the engine becomes self-0perative and to move toward the left to the position shown in Fig. 5 free of obstruction by the sleeve In order to increase the friction between the hub 34 and the shaft 2.3, a plunger 81 is located within a recess in the flange 33 of the hub 34L and is urged by a spring 82 into engagement with the shaft 23. It 1s apparent to the fact that the pinion is connected by helical splines with the motor shaft and the engine tends to drive the pinion at a greater speed than it would be driven by the motor. It is apparent from Fig. 5 that the pinion 29 may be demeshed although the operator should fail to release the pedal 46. When the pedal 46 is released, the spring 45 will cause the lever 40 to return to the position shown in Fig. 1 and will also cause the brake disc 74 to be urged against the disc 73 and the latter against the disc 72 which is connected with the motor shaft 23. Thus the shaft 23 is quickly brought to rest after the pedal 46 is released so that the starting operation may be repeated almost immediately if necessary, as inthe case of a false start of the engine. 1

Due to the pin and oblique slot connections between the lever 40 and the driving clutch member 33, motion of the pin 60 toward the right of Fig. 1 will tend to produce rotation of the member 33 in the direction of the arrow 80 as well as endwise toward the right. If the teeth of the pinion 29 should abut the ends of the teeth of gear 30 thereby arresting movement of the pinion 29 and the clutch member 33 toward the right, further movement of the lever 40 in a counterclockwise direction will cause the clutch member 33 to be rotated in order to bring the pinion into meshing registration with the gear. In order that the gear meshing mechanism may operate efiectively it is desirable that the clutch 33 and the pinion 29 will move endwise with very little'rotary motion before the pinion 29 engages the gear 30. In order to accomplish this, the weight element 77 is so constructed and arranged that it tends normally to reduce rotation of the sleeve 33 in a direction opposite to that which the pin 60 tends to produce as it moves toward the right from the position shown in Fig.1. It will be noted'from Figs. 1 and 3 that the center of mass of the weight element 77 is eccentric to the axis of the sleeve 33 and is located so that it tends to produce rotation of the sleeve 33 in the direction of the arrow 85 in Fig. 3 which is opposite in direction to that represented by the arrow 80. Therefore as the pin 60 begins to move toward the right from the position shown in Fig. 1, the sleeve 33 will tend to follow the pin rather than rotate relative to it. After the .spaces between the clutch 32 are received by the clutch teeth 31, the sleeve 33 will begin to move the pinion 29 helically along the shaft 24 and hence endwise toward the right end rotatively in the direction of the arrow 80. The

tendency of the pinion 29 to rotate in this 60 to move relative to the sleeve 33 through its slot 61 thereby producing rotation of the sleeve 33 and also the pinion 29 and the shaft 23. If means were not provided for initially resisting the tendency of the sleeve 33 to rotate as the pin 60 begins to move toward the gear 30, it might frequently happen that rela tively little endwise movement of the sleeve 33 would take place, most of the movement of the pin 60 being consumed in producing rotation of the sleeve 33 hence the pinion might not be meshed with the gear at all, or meshing might take place only to a slight degree before the motor switch would be closed. By resisting rotation of the sleeve 33 prior to contact of the pinion and gear, a relatively small portion of the motion of the lever 60 is consumed in producing rotation of the sleeve 33 to produce gear meshing registration, hence the pinion can be pushed nearly into full mesh with the gear before the motor switch is closed. Thus, liability of damage to the teeth of the gearing has been minimized.

While the form of embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

what is claimed is as follows:

1. Engine starting apparatus comprising, in combination, a motor; means for connecting the motor with an engine to be started and including a pinion movable axially into engagement with a gear of the engine and including provisions whereby the pinion will be automatically demeshed from the engine gear when the engine becomes self-operative; and means for moving the pinion into engagement with the engine gear and thereafter for causing the motor to operate, said means comprising axially engaging driving and driven clutch members, the latter of which is provided by the pinion, manually operable means for effecting rotation and axial movement of the clutch members, and a weight member so connected with the driving clutch member as to tend to resist rotation of the driving clutch member as it is moved endwise into engagement with the driven clutch member and the pinion is moved into engagement with the engine gear.

2. Engine starting apparatus according to claim 1, in which the driving clutch member is provided with a slot oblique to the axis of the member and a manually operated pin is received by the slot, the weight member tending to resist rotation of the driving clutch member when the pin is moved longitudinally of said clutch member.

3. Engine starting apparatus comprising in combination, a motor; a helically splined shaft driven thereby; a pinion threadedly connected with said splines; a driven clutch provided by the pinion; a driving clutch pro vided by a sleeve slidable along said shaft; manually operable means for eifecting rotation and axial movement of said sleeve; and a weight attached to the sleeve and having its center of mass eccentric to the axis of the sleeve and so arranged as to tend to resist rotation of the sleeve as it is moved endwise into engagement with the driven clutch and the pinion is moved into engagement with the engine gear.

4:. Engine starting apparatus according to claim 3, in which the sleeve is provided with a slot oblique to the axis of the sleeve for receiving a pin which is moved manually longitudinally of the motor shaft, the weight member tending to resist rotation of the sleeve while permitting axial movement thereof.

5. Engine starting apparatus comprising, in combination, a motor; a pinion driven by the motor and movable endwise into mesh with the gear of an engine to be started; and means for moving the pinion endwise into engagement with the gear and for rotating the pinion in case of gear tooth abutment, said means comprising a rotatable member movable endwise for moving the pinionendwise and connectible with the pinion for imparting rotation thereto, a manually operable member, pin and oblique slot connections between said members, and a weight attached to the rotatable member and having its center of mass eccentric to the axis of the rotatable member.

6. Engine starting apparatus comprising a motor; means for connecting the motor with an engine to be started and including a pinion adapted to mesh with an engine gear and provisions whereby the pinion will be automatically demeshed from the engine gear when the engine starts; axially engaging clutch elements, the driven element being provided by the pinion, and manually operable means for moving the driving clutch element into engagement with the driven clutch ele ment and for rotating the clutch elements in case of gear tooth abutment, said means comprising a rotatable member connected with the driving clutch element, a member movable longitudinally of the rotatable member, a pin-and-helical-slot-connection between the members, and a weight member connected with said rotatable member eccentric to the axis thereof and tending initially to prevent rotation of the rotatable member as the clutch.

members are moved from normal position to cause the pinion to engage the engine gear.

7. Engine starting apparatus comprising, in combination, a pinion movable endwise into mesh with a gear connected with an engine to be started, a rotatable pinion shifter movable axially of the pinion, means for rotatively connecting the shifter with the pinion, manually operable means for imparting rotary and axial movements to the shifter, a weight member so connected with the shifter as to tend to resist rotation thereof as it is moved endwise into engagement with the pinion, and power means for rotating the pinion to crank the engine.

8. Engine starting apparatus comprising, in combination, a pinion movable endwis into mesh with a gear connected with an engine to be. started, a rotatable pinion shifter movable axially of the pinion, means for rotatively connecting the shifter with the pinion, a manually operable member movable longitudinally of the shifter, a member provided by the shifter and cooperating with the manually operable member, one of said members including a surface oblique to the axis of movement of the shifter so that operation of the manually operable member tends to rotate the shifter while moving it endwise, a weight member attached to the shifter and tending to rotate it in a direction opposite to that in which the manually operable member I tends to rotate the shifter, and power means for rotating the pinion to crank the engine.

9. Engine starting apparatus compmsmg, in combination, a pinion movable endwise into mesh with a gear connected with an engine to be started, a rotatable pinion shifter movable axially of the pinion, means for rotatively connecting the shifter with the pinion, a manually operable pin movable along the shifter, a surface provided by the shifter oblique to its axis and engaged by the pin, a weight member attached to the shifter and tending to rotate it in a direction opposite to that in which the pin tends to rotate the shifter, and power means for rotating the pinion to crank theengine.

10. Engine starting apparatus comprising, in combination, a motor, a shaft driven by the motor, a pinion driven by the shaft and the shaft and rotatable coaxiallywith respect to the pinion, axially engageable clutch connections between the sleeve and pinion, manually operable means tending to rotate the pinion while moving it axially, and a weight attached eccentrically to the sleeve and tending to rotate the sleeve in a direction opposite to that in which the manually operable means tends to rotate the sleeve.

11. Engine starting apparatus comprising, in combination, a motor, a shaft driven by the motor, a pinion driven by the shaft and movable therealong into mesh with a gear connected with an engine to be started, a tubular pinion shifting sleeve slidable along the shaft and rotatable co-axially with respect to the pinion, clutch teeth provided by the sleeve and engageable with the teeth of the pinion whereby rotation may be transmitted to the pinion from the sleeve, a pin movable along the shaft and received by a slot in the sleeve formed oblique to the axis thereof, and a weight attached eccentrically to the sleeve and tending to rotate the sleeve in a direction opposite to that in which the sleeve is rotated by the pin while the sleeve is being moved by the pin toward the pinion In testimony whereof I hereto aflix my signature.

GEORGE W. ELSEY. 

